Economics 101 teaches that whenever the producer of something has a monopoly and the consumer has no choice, the quality of goods and services decreases while prices rise. But in South Carolina, instead of allowing competition from multiple producers to give consumers choices in both service and rates, the legislature has given the big utilities service-area monopolies and guaranteed them (on average) a 10.2 percent return on invested capital – even when they make poor decisions. Read More in South Carolina’s FITS News.